When Ads Attack

Dan Cleary in Tennessee is a regular Northern Alliance Radio Network listener. He recently received an attack mail piece against a local Republican candidate, entitled: Tom Dubois Funded By Gas Gouging!

He reminds all campaigns of the necessity to have a quick turn around time from idea generation to execution on those advertising brainstorms:

I suppose too that with gas now below $2 a gallon in some locations, there is now a reverse-gouging of sorts taking place in order to round up votes for Republicans just before the election, right? Of course.

Dan also notes that this message isn't exactly original. It's been done, and to much better/worse effect:

I'd say this flyer is just about the most hilariously dumb invocation of "Big Oil" in a political ad that I've ever seen. Well, maybe not. Check out this ad put out by Al Franken, the Democratic challenger to Republican Norm Coleman's U.S. Senate seat.

This Franken ad was spoofed to perfection by the crew at the First Team of the Northern Alliance Radio Network on AM 1280 The Patriot in Minnesota, when they called out their colleague "King Banaian" for buying his brandy overseas with the help of ... Big Oil. Shame on you, Mr. Banaian!

Indeed.

Speaking of ads, last week I decried the presence of scurrilous attack ads during the World Series broadcast:

During the last commercial break I get smacked in the face with back-to-back negative ads pissing on Michele Bachmann and Norm Coleman.

I was speaking metaphorically, of course. It turns out, if I had been l watching the attack ads in Kansas, it would have been a literal description. Check out this charmer from US Senate challenger Jim Slattery (D):



Despite this appeal to our better angels, according to Real Clear Politics, Slattery is still down 20 points in the polls to Senator Pat Roberts.

It this holds, predicted headline for the Kansas papers on Nov. 5: ROBERTS TROUNCES WIZ KID